Walking the Sandstone Trail (Shropshire & Cheshire)
Sandstone Trail is a popular long-distance walking trail in north west England. The 34 mile route takes in both counties’ beautiful countryside: a forest, two castles, ancient churches and many canals and caves.
Cheshire is one of England’s most beautiful counties, nearly all of it rural apart from a few major towns like Warrington. Close to Wales, it is mostly inland but does have a short coast facing the Irish Sea.
Out walking? Follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. Keep dogs away from steep banks, mushrooms (and other toxic plants/trees) and on leads during nesting season (and near barnyard friends and wild ponies).
At the coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel).
How to upright an overturned sheep
If when out walking you see a sheep on its back (due to pregnancy or rain-soaked wool), just firmly right it back (or it will die) then stay with it, until the rain has drained off.
How to walk the Sandstone Trail
The walk takes 2 to 3 days (depending on how fit you are). Or you can just break things up with small circular walks, if you don’t want to walk the whole route.
The sandstone is 225 million years old (from the Triassic period).
Wear well-worn vegan walking boots and bring a waterproof, as the trail can get muddy in places, especially after rain. Carry enough water, snacks, and a map or GPS – though waymarking is good.
Public transport links at both ends make point-to-point walking easy, and local taxi firms can help with transfers for circular or sectional walks.
Frodsham (Cheshire)
The walk begins in Frodsham, a north Cheshire market town that’s just 9 miles east of the Tudor city of Chester. There’s a railway station here, if you’re not driving.
Back in the Middle Ages, this was a busy port that exported salt to Liverpool. From Frodsham Hill, you can see across to North Wales, Liverpool and Manchester (on a clear day!)
Locals born and raised here are Daniel Craig (the James Bond actor) and singer/songwriter Gary Barlow of the band Take That.
Whitchurch (Shropshire)
The walk ends in Whitchurch, another market town, this time in north Shropshire. It houses beautiful Georgian buildings and ancient inns, and is known for its town clocks. This historic market town has over 200 listed buildings and is also home to the scenic Alderford Lake.
It’s also Shropshire’s oldest town, taking its name from the Saxon word for ‘white church’. Composer Edward German (who wrote light operas) was born here.
Not to be confused with Hampshire’s Whitchurch
This area has a strong association with the writer Richard Adams, who wrote the book Watership Down, set on the Hampshire Downs. He was a strong campaigner on animal welfare, writing against both fur and vivisection, and later on in life wrote another book to raise funds for Born Free foundation (which campaigns against zoos).
He lived with his wife in a country home not far from where he was raised, and died age 96.
A proud local story is ‘the famous victory for Liberty’ in 1889. This is after the town held a massive protest that went to the high court, to ask for the right to peacefully protest, following the arrest by police of members of the Christian Salvation Army.
Why? For playing hymns in the market square! They were supported by over 80 local residents, when marched in handcuffs for 12 miles to Winchester, find and imprisoned when they refused to pay the fine.
